<p><a href=“http://www.asce.org/professional/educ/bodyofknowledge.cfm[/url]”>Server Error | ASCE;
There’s the link that you’re looking for… There’s an entire publication about the requisite body of knowledge that the American Society of Civil Engineers are pushing for entering into private practice as an engineer, and it’s where they come to the conclusion that it’s becoming more and more necessary for civil engineers to get their masters degrees.</p>
<p>In terms of American employment for people with US MSc degrees, yep, I’d say that American jobs are readily achievable for foreign students, so long as you can get all the visas and such worked out.</p>
<p>Financial aid is much more of an issue for international students than it is for domestic students. That’s going to be a difficulty. Perhaps that’s something that your own government can help you with, or perhaps there’s a local foundation that’s willing to help you with funding. Perhaps applying for a Fulbright scholarship or something along those lines would be a good idea. There are teaching assistantships to be had, especialy if you’re fluent in English and qualified in the different subjects, but those are more uncertain than research assistantships and fellowships, which are hard to come by. I’m sure it’s not <em>impossible</em>, but my impression is that getting funding as an international student is difficult.</p>
<p>Roughly half of the students in the top programs are international students, so I believe that the odds are somewhat better for international grads than for international undergrads, but I’m not sure. I know it’s still highly competitive, even for domestic students. You typically need fairly high GRE scores and at <em>least</em> a 3.5 GPA, as a domestic candidate, in order to get accepted.</p>
<p>I’d consult the individual programs. Typically, there’s a graduate admissions coordinator within each of the departments, and often, there’s an international admissions coordinator as well. Get in touch with those people and repeat the questions you’ve asked here. I’m sure it also varies from program to program, and each program’s coordinators can give you better and more accurate answers and information than what I can provide. Being a domestic grad student, I’m not familiar with the international grad application process, other than what I hear from my officemates, and typically, it’s just what I overhear in Portuguese. Considering I only speak Spanish and English, my information may be incorrect…! =) So, please check with the individual schools. They’ll be able to point you in the right direction.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>